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Tetanus toxoid, reduced diphtheria toxoid, and acellular pertussis (Tdap) vaccine is generally used for booster vaccination in Europe and the United States to avoid increased reactogenicity after diphtheria and tetanus toxoids and acellular pertussis (DTaP) vaccination in infants. However, Japan has extended the use of additional DTaP vaccination without reducing the antigen dose for diphtheria and pertussis to adolescents and adults despite limited reports on its safety in adults. This prospective observational questionnaire-based study investigated the occurrence of adverse events (AEs) following DTaP vaccination between June 2018 and June 2019 in participants aged 10 years or older. Of 250 eligible participants, 235 (94%) responded regarding AEs. Of these 235 participants, 133 (56.6%) reported AEs, with 39 reporting systemic AEs (16.6%) and 120 reporting local AEs (51.1%) attributed to DTaP vaccination. The incidence of local AEs was much higher with DTaP than with non-DTaP vaccinations (51.1% vs. 10.2%), and the AEs appeared later (p less then 0.01) and lasted longer (p less then 0.01) with DTaP vaccination. However, more than 75% of these AEs resolved within 7 days. DTaP vaccination was not associated with any serious AEs. These results indicate that the DTaP vaccine can be widely used as a booster in adults as an alternative to the Tdap vaccine.Green tea extracts effectively inactivated SARS-CoV-2 in vitro in a dose-dependent manner. Serially 10-fold diluted solutions of catechin mixture reagent from green tea were mixed with the viral culture fluid at a volume ratio of nine to one, respectively, and kept at room temperature for 5 min. The solution of 10 mg/mL catechin reagent reduced the viral titer by 4.2 log and 1.0 mg/mL solution reduced only by one log. Pre-infection treatment of the cells with the reagent alone did not affect the viral growth. In addition, cells treated with only the reagent was assayed for host-cell viability using the WST-8 system and almost no host-cell damage by the treatment was observed. These findings suggested that the direct treatment of virus with the reagent before inoculation decreased the viral activity and that catechins might have a potential to suppress the SARS-CoV-2 infection.In Japan, several meningococcal disease outbreaks have recently been reported among adolescent dormitory residents of schools. However, little is known about meningococcal carriage dynamics among healthy individuals. The purpose of this study was to investigate the carriage rate over time and characteristics of Neisseria meningitidis strains among dormitory students. The survey was conducted twice between November 2018 and January 2019 for first to third year students (N=376) in a medical school dormitory. The two surveys yielded carriage rates of 0.4% (one positive among 257 students) and 2.1% (two positive among 97 students, including 90 re-participants), respectively. No transmission or persistence of a specific strain was found during the two months. A limited number of students had a history of potential risk behaviors for carriage, such as smoking (3.0%, six among 202 aged ≥ 20 years; 5.2%, four among 77 aged ≥ 20 years) and attending parties more than once a week (4.3% [11/257], 2.1% [2/97]). Two isolates were unencapsulated, consistent with the participants being asymptomatic.In Japan, domestic combined measles, mumps, and rubella (MMR) vaccines were withdrawn in 1993 due to serious aseptic meningitis attributed to the mumps component. KM-248 is an MMR vaccine (M-M-R® II), manufactured by Merck & Co., Inc. (Kenilworth, NJ, USA), registered and approved in 74 countries, but not approved in Japan. In this multicenter, randomized, single-blind study, the primary endpoints were; noninferiority of KM-248 measles component immunogenicity compared to control measles vaccine already approved in Japan and seroconversion rates for these three viruses by KM-248. Vaccination with KM-248 in children 12 – 90 months of age (n = 178) induced robust immune responses to measles, mumps and rubella viruses. It was confirmed that the seroconversion rate for measles virus by the measles vaccine component of KM-248 (n = 172) was non-inferior to that of the control measles vaccine (n = 85). No serious adverse reactions such as aseptic meningitis and anaphylaxis were observed. Fever is one of the most common adverse reactions associated with vaccination and was observed in approximately half of the participants. KM-248 administered to healthy Japanese children aged between 12 and 90 months demonstrated general comparability with respect to safety and immunogenicity compared to the control vaccine.Anisakidosis is developed by ingesting Anisakis in marine fish including the chub mackerel, Scomber japonicus without proper pre-treatment such as cooking or freezing. Two sibling species of Anisakis are found in S. japonicus from Japanese waters and the prevalence and species of Anisakis in the fish depend on sea area. For example, Anisakis simplex sensu stricto is found in the Pacific stock of S. japonicus, while Anisakis pegreffii is found in the Tsushima Warm Current stock. S. japonicus caught in the Bungo Channel, off the coast of Saganoseki in Oita Prefecture, which is branded as Sekisaba, inhabits a very limited area; however, the infection states of Anisakis found in Sekisaba remain unclear. In this study, we compared the infection states of Anisakis in Sekisaba with those in S. japonicus caught in South Oita area and Nagasaki Prefecture. All of Anisakis from Nagasaki Prefecture were A. pegreffii, while most of them found in Sekisaba and fish from South Oita area were A. simplex s.s.. Interestingly, the prevalence of Anisakis in Sekisaba was significantly lower than those of two other areas. This may be reflected that Sekisaba might belong to a distinct stock of S. japonicus varying from other stocks.The pneumococcal conjugate vaccines successfully decreased the incidence of invasive pneumococcal diseases and pneumococcal antibiotic resistance. However, it has also led to serotype replacement. According to the report from the National Institute of Infectious Diseases (NIID) in 2017, 96% of pneumococcal isolates obtained from IPD children aged less then 5 years were non-PCV13-serotype. Here, we report a Japanese immunocompetent and vaccinated child who developed refractory meningitis caused by Streptococcus pneumoniae, nonvaccine serotype 10A. PCR revealed genotypic penicillin-resistant Streptococcus pneumoniae (gPRSP) with triple mutations (pbp1a + 2b + 2x). Multilocus sequence typing identified the strain as sequence type (ST) 11189. ST11189 strain has not been reported in Japan, but has recently been reported as a cause of invasive infections in Korea. SB 204990 research buy The clinical course was complicated by development of brain and subdural abscesses that necessitated prolonged antibiotic treatment and multiple burr hole drainages.